My Natural Skincare Method

October 28, 2016

My skincare journey has been a long one, y’all. Every time I’ve mentioned the oil-cleansing natural skincare routine I’ve come to depend on, I get so many questions. I know I’ve sent this to some of you when you’ve asked, but I’ve been meaning to sit down and write this post forever! My skin has been a source of stress for me since I was a teenager and two years ago, I finally found a solution I felt great about that finally changed it.

As a teenager, I battled constant breakouts like so many do. The dermatologist put me on all kinds of pills and heavy-duty topical creams that now make me cringe! And still, nothing gave me the clear, even skin I was hoping for. I finally landed on a popular skincare regimen that has had more infomercials than I can count! After a few months, started to see results. For the first time since I started wearing makeup, I felt comfortable going out without heavy foundation on. It was very expensive to keep up with that regimen, but I thought it worked and after seeing how self-conscious my skin issues made me, my parents were happy to find a fix.

Fast forward to ten years later, I was still using that same skincare regimen. Those initial results stayed…most of the time. But it wasn’t a complete fix. During stressful times or sometimes for seemingly no reason at all, I’d get pesky breakouts that would make me want to hide and send me back to that heavy makeup. But for the most part, my skin was clear enough.

Everything with my skin really came to a head a few years into marriage when the main ingredient in what I was using, benzoyl peroxide, was named an official cancer causer. At this point, our journey into living naturally had started, though we were at the beginning stages. There were still so many toxins and chemicals to get rid of! But hearing that what I’d been lathering my skin with twice a day for the last ten years was on the national list of carcinogens with the likes of cigarettes and tanning beds was one of my biggest wake-up calls that the natural focus we’d started having was 100% the right path. And what’s so sad and scary is that this dangerous ingredient is in so many skin products! Now, experts go back and forth on whether or not they think it causes cancer, but there are so many studies that says it does. It’s too risky in my book.

I went off of it immediately, and as you can guess, my skin went CRAZY. I’m talking the worst breakouts I’d had since I was 15. I really felt at a loss. I was so embarrassed to have teenage-grade breakouts as a 26 year-old married woman. But I felt like I had nowhere to turn. I was determined to go a more natural route with my skin, but with suddenly severe skin problems, I didn’t believe that anything natural would actually work!

I went to my dermatologist because I was desperate. He immediately started listing treatment plans and oral medicine I should be on, the list went on and on. When I told him we were considering trying to get pregnant (this was three years ago), he stopped short. He was quiet for a minute, then said, “Nothing I would recommend for your skin would be safe for a pregnant woman.” I asked why and he said, “because the chemicals in them are considered potentially dangerous for a baby.”

Ummm….what??? So what you’re telling me to put on my skin or ingest every single day is not safe because of the dangerous chemicals? If chemicals are too strong and dangerous for me pregnant, they’re too strong and dangerous for me day in and day out.

I left determined to find a chemical-free, natural method. I knew it had to be out there. As I’d read about many health issues, I knew I had to find a way to get to the heart of the issue and not just mask the symptoms as my past regimen had done for ten years. Everything I read talked about how breakouts are a sign of what’s going on inside your body. Long story short, researching and a period of trial and error led me to a few key changes that have truly made my skin what I always hoped it could be.

First off, I knew from my reading that the food I was eating was contributing to my skin problems. I completely went off gluten and dairy as a trial and quickly started to see some changes. Around the same time, I first discovered Young Living essential oils. I’d heard about them for awhile from some of my naturally-minded friends and had always meant to try them. As I searched for natural ways to clear up your skin, I kept reading about oil-cleansing over and over. I decided to give it a try.

Within a month, my skin was clear. Not only was it clear, but the color was evened out, all splotches gone. I know that initial food detox helped jump-start everything. I’m still off dairy because I realized I had an allergy to it that was causing a skin reaction (among other no-fun symptoms). Gluten I have in moderation now, but if I eat a ton of it in a short period of time, I do see skin breakouts from that. But the oil-cleansing has held steady. I still have the skin I’d always hoped for and rarely wear anything other than bronzer and mascara when going out. The need for heavy duty foundation is gone and I couldn’t be happier about that!

Here’s the method I’ve found that really works and cured my skin problems for good:

STEP 1: Mix Jojoba Oil and Melaleuca (a really pure form of Tea Tree) together in your palm. Rub it into your skin for ten seconds or so, making sure to really work it into your pores.

I read different recommendations of oil combos for this step and I tried them. This was definitely the right one for me. If you are prone to breakouts at all or have slightly oily skin, this is the one you’d want to go with. The other combos are heavier and for me, didn’t work as well.

The beauty of the oil-cleansing method is that giving your skin natural oil actually helps to balance out the oils on your skin. I kept reading this, but after trying it, I’m amazed at how true it is. I always had oily skin. After doing this method for awhile, my skin is no longer oily and is really balanced. While I used to look oily by lunch and need to blot, I don’t even have any residual oil on my face by bedtime!

From my reading, I realized that the heavy-duty products and chemicals I was using on my skin were stripping all of the natural oil I had, so my skin was going into hyper-production mode to try and replenish those oils. Now, it’s completely balanced and moisturized, without being oily…just from this step!

I run my water while I’m doing the first step so that it gets good and hot for this part. You want that water to be as hot as you can stand because that’s what will really open the pores and let the cleansing oils in. I hold it on my face for twenty to thirty seconds, making sure that I hit each spot. At the end, I wipe my face good and clean, though nearly all the oil is absorbed into the skin from the steaming. It gets in there and cleans out those pores!

I remove any make-up I wear this way and it works great. On days I do wear my favorite natural foundation, this removes every trace and cleanses at the same time. And I love this because my skin feels so rejuvenated, almost like I had a facial. I did this step morning and night while I was actively trying to clear my skin. Now that it’s clearer, I usually just do this at night to remove make-up and any oil and dirt from the day. In the morning, I was well with water and do Step 3 below.

STEP 3: Rub several drops of Frankincense into your skin.

This step is the game-changer for me. While the oil-cleansing has done so much for clearing up my skin, using Frankincense morning and night is the real change. Not only does it also assist in clearing up my skin, but it keeps it even in color. No more splotches with my beloved Frankincense!

I pour several generous drops into my palm and then rub it into my skin. Frankincense has so many healing properties for your skin and I can attest to it! After using it for a week, I noticed brighter, more even skin. This step is what made me quit relying so heavily on make-up! I no longer needed make-up to even out my skin. Frankincense is also known to help protect your skin on a bright, sunny day, so I love wearing it as my base each day when I’m out and about.

This was the first life-changing use of essential oils that I discovered and it made me a believer forever! I so wish I had a before picture to share now, but ofcourse a no-makeup up close shot wasn’t at the top of my list when I was going through this struggle! I think what I love most is that not only is it giving me skin I’m really proud of, but it’s actually nourishing me. These oils have amazing properties that are good for so many things beyond skincare. So I went from using something on my skin that’s shown to cause cancer to using something that is actually bettering my health in many ways.

One thing I will say is that the quality of the oils you use matters, matters, MATTERS.

As I said in my essential oils story, I tried to do this first with over the counter oils and I got about 10% of the result I did once I switched to therapeutic-grade oils from Young Living. The key is that the oil needs to be a straight oil, taken right out of the plant. Most over-the-counter oils are diluted and mixed with synthetic materials, so not only do they not smell the same, they don’t hold near the same power or result. Just a few months ago, I was reminded of this! I ran out of the melaleuca and bought some tea tree at Trader Joe’s because my Young Living order was still three weeks out. I thought, “I can wait for it to get here and make do with this in the meantime!” Within a week, I had breakouts returning. Once my melaleuca arrived, my skin was back to normal within a week. The same thing happened with Frankincense…ran out, splotches came back and then disappeared as soon as I got more in. Now, I’m determined to never be without these again!

Thanks so much for reading about my natural skincare journey! It’s so cool that each time I’ve done a natural living post, you guys are so interested! I get so much follow-up and it’s clear so many of you are on a similar journey, which makes me so happy to hear!

This is just one of the ways that essential oils have completely changed and bettered our life! To read more about other ways I use them, check out my essential oils story by clicking below:

***

That’s been The White Buffalo motto for the last three years and is still what I’m striving to do each day in our home and with our family. Yes, that often means tablescapes, inspiring interiors, and fun before and after renos. But it also means family. Faith. Joy. Struggles. Laughter. Health. You’ll find a little bit of all of that here as I share how we’re choosing to live with both style and purpose.

A huge part of that is our journey toward a more natural life that’s focused on enjoying each and every moment together. A huge thanks to my main blog sponsor that makes this dream of mine possible:

Comments

Hi Brenda! So what I’ve discovered is really through lots of research, trial and error, and asking other oil-loving friends. What I’ve heard from some older friends is that you’ll want to do something with more moisture than the jojoba and tea tree. They’re AMAZING for clearing up my skin, but may be too strong and not moisturizing enough for yours. A lot of oil cleansing sites recommend coconut or olive oil for more moisture. Both are thicker and really create a more moisturized, glowy skin! I’ve tried both and they broke my skin out slightly (nothing like I had before!), but I realized that for my still prone to breakout skin, it was too thick and clogged up my pores. Jojoba is a thinner oil. But in the winter when I do get dry patches, I use coconut oil there and it helps a ton and doesn’t break out! But that’s when my skin is dry and desperately needs it! If i use it normally, it’s a bit much. Lavender is also amazing for skin, is more gentle, and has properties that help protect against sunny days! If I were you, I’d try coconut oil with drops of lavender for the first part and then do frankincense for the last step! Frankincense is one of the most amazing oils ever and I know women of every age who swear by it!

That’s so awesome, Tracey! Oil cleansing is so amazing at not just clearing, but at moisturizing and making your skin glow! I bet your skin looks beautiful! The olive oil is really moisturizing too, which I bet is a great help! I actually started with that and it broke mine out, but I think that’s because I didn’t need the extra moisture. I’ve heard from older oil-loving friends that it’ll be good to convert to another one for moisture as my skin ages when keeping it clear of breakouts probably isn’t as big of the concern 🙂

I’ve been doing this method for 10 years which would have made me 38 when I started. I’m also always prone to breakouts (still at 48) ?. I’ve been told that the oils you use must be cold pressed and organic unrefined etc… The cold pressed is very important!

I struggled like you and was on prescriptions and all that. I took birth control to help and used benzoyl peroxide. One day I just said enough and tried to go more natural. What an ordeal and process that was! I feel your struggle!

On a side note, my husband went gluten free 2 years ago and it was life changing for him. ?

Love your blog and your style! I see little things around your home that I have in my own. ??

Your story sounds so similar to mine — except I haven’t found my happy ending yet! I’m excited to try this regimen to see if I can clear up my skin once and for all. I do have a question though: What brand of Jojoba Oil do you use? Thanks for sharing this!

Hi Emily! I’m so sorry to hear you haven’t! I swear, you need to try this! I started it two years ago, saw such progress, and it’s kept it maintained over the last two years! I get my jojoba oil at Trader Joe’s right now, but am looking into a higher quality one. There’s such variance in what’s in oils! But in this case, jojoba really serves as a carrier for the Melaleuca, if that makes sense, so the quality of that and Frankincense is the biggest concern. I’ve love jojoba though! Just this week I ran out of it and it was crazy so I didn’t get over there. I used coconut oil instead, which a lot of people recommend for a higher moisturizing version, but my skin had little breakouts within two days! For my skin type, that thicker texture and moisture really clogs up my skin. Granted, that’s just on my face. I use coconut oil everywhere else to dilute different oils and don’t notice a breakout from it. if you’re really trying to clear, I would go with jojoba vs. coconut 🙂

My journey was similar to yours except that I was in my 40s and still having teenage-like breakouts! Young Living has changed so many aspects of my life, I cannot say enough good things about the oils (and Thieves cleaner!) Two oils that have made a big difference for my skin are Progessence Plus and Copaiba. I use Tea Tree and Frank too but not in the way you mentioned but I am going to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!

Hi Rachel! Thank you so much for sharing your story! I’ve heard such amazing things about Copaiba! I actually just got some in and am going to try it mixed with Frankincense for the last step! So many friends have raved about Frankincense on the skin to me and it’s amazing! I’d love to hear how else you use those oils! Always looking for more ways to benefit from them! so happy to hear that YL has done amazing things for you too! I often think, “How did we function before we found this???” 🙂

I’m 30 and also still get breakouts like a teen. Especially at the end of the “month”, which is always a nice top off.
Did you find you had any kind of transition period when starting this? Usually when I try something new I break out a bit initially regardless but I’m imagining looking super oily at first until your skin gets used to all the extra moisture.

Hi Kirsten! Great questions! So I actually didn’t notice any reactions at the beginning! My skin just gradually got better. I actually noticed an almost immediate decrease in oil on my skin! It adjusted really, really quickly and never got more oily than I had been used to! I knew almost immediately it was going to work because started seeing progress so quickly!

Hi Lindsay-
I’ve recently been researching more natural skin care methods and battle adult acne as well, so this post was very timely! My current skincare line has a sunscreen as part of it, but are you saying frankincense acts as sunscreen so I wouldn’t need that in addition to the steps you mention here? Also, what is the ratio of jajoba oil and melaleuca you use and how much?

Thanks for sharing your story Lindsay. I have been trying to find the right EOs for myself (45 and aging skin) and my 3 teenagers who all have typical breakouts. The meleleuca is challenging for them because of the smell, but they have to get past it because prescription acne medications are so bad in the long run. I’ll share with them your experience and look forward to more of your posts on your natural beauty regime 🙂

Great post, Lindsay! I can’t wait to try this out. After years of using BP also I’m really trying to get more natural as well with my skincare and have recently switched to the Yes To line which has been great, but not the end all. My question though is about your eye area…..first, can the oil cleansing method be used to remove your eye makeup as long as it doesn’t get in your eyes or do you use a separate product? And second, can you apply the frankincense around your eye area or is it not recommended….thanks!!

Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for the comment! Okay, I’m going to answer both of your comments here 🙂 So, first of all, yes, I use the oil cleansing method to remove my eye makeup! I never have had an issue with it. And as for the Frankincense, I mainly put it on all of my “face” areas (forehead, nose, chin, cheeks). I definitely am not careful around my eyes and there’s no issue I’ve heard of with that, but I don’t put it right up by my eyes. Does that make sense?

And as for the cost, you’re looking at the retail prices, which I would NEVER suggest anyone pay! Young Living is a membership where you get a starter kit of basic oils (including Frankincense to try!) and then you can re-order whenever you like. The wholesale prices are more reasonable, but with all of the extra rewards they do for members it’s a huge value. My bottle of Frankincense lasts atleast two months and the melaleuca lasts much longer. It’s much cheaper overall than the other products I’ve used, but I use it mainly because how well it works not the cost 🙂 Let me know if you have any more questions!

Hi Lindsay! I love this post! I have found clary sage works well on my skin with coconut oil. I have struggled with cystic acne since I was 22 (I am 28 now) and recently started oil cleansing and it has changed my skin! I wanted to ask if you use a topical sunscreen product aside from the oils daily?

I might have to give frankincense a try to help with my skin tone! Thank you for sharing!